Use words if necessary

By
Russ Lawson

 

Several years back I read of a
church that had the following sign hanging in front of their building. It read:
“Preach the Gospel at all times... Use words if necessary”. What a great
statement of what our lives should be about. It's not a new concept at all. Matthew 5:16 Jesus instructs his
followers, “In the same way, let your light
shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father
in heaven.”

 Maybe a way we could describe this is; it’s like when you
want to sell your house and you have an open house for folks. You dust and
sweep, mop and polish so folks will see how great your place is and want to buy
it for their own. That is what Jesus is saying about our Christian lives. I
want us to think about the whole message Jesus is giving to his listeners in
the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew
5:14-16 from a different perspective. One man tried to paraphrase Jesus’
message this way, “Here’s another way to put
it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is
not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a
hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under
a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there
on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your
lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this
generous Father in heaven.” (MSG) I think in this instance he captures the essence of Jesus’
message.

 Proverbs 27:19 has this to say, “As water reflects the face, so
one’s life reflects the heart.”  Well…
maybe it’s simpler to just say, “Preach the Gospel at all times... Use words
if necessary,” How are you doing at letting your light shine? Sometimes
I don’t do so well, but I’m trying to do better! I hope you are too.

 

 

 

They REALLY lived!   

                           By Russ Lawson 

One of my favorite movies
from the past few years is called "Second Hand Lions". The movie
is about two old bachelor brothers living in the middle of the prairie in Texas. They have lived
adventure filled lives, served in the French Foreign Legion and lived in Africa for 40 years. Now they have come back to live out
their last years alone and feeling old and useless. Then fate intervenes; a
niece who has made a series of bad choices in her life "dumps" her
son (whose about 12 years old) on their doorstep for them to keep.

The boy is scared out of his
wits; he's a city boy and doesn't know the first thing about the country, the
eccentric uncles are about honor and honesty. Slowly a bond begins to form and
the boy begins to learn about the past these men have led. He understands that
they feel they have no reason to live and are actively looking for dangerous
situations by which to end their life (with their boots on as they say) while
they are still able to face challenges.

 Trying to regain some of
their excitement for life at one point the brothers buy an African lion from a
circus, which they plan to turn loose and hunt. It turns out that the lion is
old, sick and tame and they end up letting it live in their cornfield. That's
where they get the name of the movie, "Second hand lions," because
that describes the brothers also, once ferocious, now just old and not able to
do what they once did.

 You know what I love about
this movie, I can identify with the two old brothers to a point. Through the
grace of God Melody and I have lived through some tremendous adventures while
serving Him. We have lived in several different states here in America and
even on the African continent. We have friends, brothers and sisters in Christ
literally all over the world. We have worked hard, dealt death and illness and
difficult situations and are still able to keep going, at least for the
present. We have experienced life to the fullest with all of its joys and
sorrows up to this point in our lives and I pray that we can end our lives
"with our boots on" (still actively seeking adventure in Christ).

 At the end of the movie the
uncles now in their 80's "go out in a blaze of glory" so to speak.
The young boy, now a man meets someone who had heard the stories about his
uncles from his grandfather in North Africa.
The statement is made, "so they really lived". The last words of the
movie are the response of the young boy, now a man when he says, "Yes,
they REALLY lived". What better epitaph could you want? Doesn't that say
it all for us, who of us isn't seeking some kind of fulfillment, something that
makes us feel that life is worth living, something that gives meaning to
getting out of bed in the mornings?

 Do you want to really live?
The apostle Paul had a handle on that idea. He wrote in Philippians 1:21,
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain". Paul
also wrote in Romans 14:8, "For if we
live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore,
whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s."

 God speaks through the apostle John in Revelation
14:13, where we read, "And I heard a voice from heaven saying,
"Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes,
says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from all their
toils and trials; for their good deeds follow them!"

 The adventure continues for
those who serve God, because "they really live" loving and serving
God now and forever! How are you doing?